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Equipment
Equipment is a temporary means of increasing a character's power. Weapons increase the character's damage, armor decreases the damage they take from physical and energy attacks, and other gear such as gloves, hats, and shoes provide situational bonuses that fit what part of the body the equipment corresponds with. The availability of equipment is up to the Game Master, and players should build characters assuming they will gear find during game sessions instead of starting with any. Game Masters should use common sense about what type of gear players will have access to at the start depending on the game's setting and the circumstances under which their game's first session is taking place. Modern firearms shouldn't be found in a sword-and-sorcery fantasy world, and plate armor shouldn't be readily available to civilians living in a film-noir setting. Typically, equipment occupies the following slots: * Right and Left Hands: These are items such as weapons or shields that the character holds. At the time of creation, the character without the Ambidextrous trait picks which is their dominant hand; if they use the other for weapon attacks, they suffer a Disadvantage to the roll. * Body: Armor and clothing occupy this slot. Generally, the term body refers to articles adorning the character's chest and legs. At the Game Master's option, character can wear special equipment in the Body slot under any armor they wear, though generally Armor leaves little room for additional garments. Body slot items are associated with protecting the wearer from attacks through Armor or Damage Reduction, but they can also provide body altering effects such as Change Size and Invisibility. * Eyes: Glasses, goggles, and other pieces of protective eye-wear fill this slot. Eye equipment typically has to do with enhancing or the wearer's senses, granting Enhanced Senses or protecting them from Flash attacks. * Feet: Characters can wear boots, shin pads, and shoes that increase their stability on the ground or their running speed. Foot wear can also grant additional types of movement, such as Flight or Swimming. * Hands: Characters can cover their hands with gauntlets or gloves that typically improve hand-to-hand fighting techniques or boost the wearer's physical strength, though they can also use Blast powers, emit areas of Darkness, Entangles, or they can create Structures. * Head: Hats, helmets, and other pieces of head wear are typically either protect the wearer from attacks, grant Enhanced Senses, or boost their mental Characteristics. * Neck: Characters can wear amulets, chokers, and pendants that are typically associated with Command powers, Enhanced Senses, Flash powers, Heal powers, Images, Mental and Power Defense-boosting Armor, and Telepathy. * Rings: Characters can wear 2 rings that can contain any Power or boost any Base Characteristic. * Shoulders: Characters can wear capes, cloaks, and jackets that boost the character's defenses, or grant Flight, Invisibility or Teleportation powers * Waist: Characters can wear belts, pants, or skirts that boost their physical characteristics or grant access to Change Size or Morph powers. * Wrists: Armbands, bracelets, and vambraces worn in the Wrist slot usually provide defensive or offensive abilities, granting Armor bonuses to various defenses, firing Blasts, Drains, or Dispels, or providing Healing powers. Characters can typically only wear one item per slot, and Game Masters can either create their own item slots or pieces of equipment that require multiple slots to function. Weapons Weapons are tools for melee and ranged combat that either increase the amount of damage characters can do hand-to-hand or allow them to fight at a distance. * Melee Weapons are used for hand-to-hand combat. Most add either the user's Strength or Agility dice to damage rolls, depending on whether the arm has the Agile special effect.. * Ranged Weapons allow the wielder to attack enemies at a distance, though it's difficult to acquire more damage for ranged weapons from additional sources like melee weapons. Melee Weapons Melee weapons increase the character's damage for melee attacks and use either Strength or Agility for Accuracy rolls. If a character decides to pick up a weapon, they should take the following into account: * Type: This is the broad category of weapons the armament belongs to. Characters must have proficiency in the category to use the weapon, and they'll receive bonuses when using the weapon depending on how many Skill ranks they have in proficiency. * Weight: Characters can only carry so much equipment, and if the character's equipment load exceeds what they can carry, the character becomes incapable of moving. * Damage: The number of dice the character rolls for damage. If a character's damage on a single attack doubles what the weapon is capable of, it breaks. * Required Strength: How much Strength is necessary to wield the weapon with one hand. This required effort to wield the weapon also increases the Stamina cost for an attack with the weapon by 1 per 5 points of required Strength. ** For example: The club weighs 8 lb, so an attack with a club consumes 1 additional point of Stamina per swing. * Special Effects (abbr: SFX): Any additional effects associated with the weapon. Light Melee Weapons Light melee weapons are designed for agile attacks. All Light Melee Weapons are considered to have the Agile property due to their low weight and maneuverability compared to other weapons. Medium Melee Weapons Medium-sized weapons are meant to be used in one hand, but require a little physical training to use properly. Very few of these weapons are usable without training, but they are far more powerful than light weapons. Large Melee Weapons Large weapon are typically difficult to wield one-handed, being larger and heavier than standard weapons. In exchange for their weight, large melee weapons deal great damage. Heavy Melee Weapons Heavy and unwieldy, only strong and well-trained fighters can use heavy weapons effectively. Very few people can use a heavy weapon one-handed. Ranged Weapons Ranged Weapons don't have as many damage dice as melee weapons, but they can be used at a distance, keeping the wielder safe from reprisal. Ranged weapons use Agility and Dexterity for Accuracy rolls. When picking out ranged weapons, players should consider the following: * Type: What broad category of armaments the weapon belongs to. A character without proficiency in this category takes a disadvantage to Accuracy when using this weapon, while having additional Skill ranks in proficiency grants benefits when using this weapon. ** If the weapon is a bow or crossbow, the ammunition is relatively interchangeable, meaning an arrow or bolt made for one weapon of the same category will function just as well for other armaments of the same type. * Maximum Range: The furthest an attack from this weapon can go and still deal damage. * Max Ammo: How many attacks the weapon can in a row make before needing to be reloaded. * Reload Time: How long it takes to reload a weapon to its Max Ammo capacity. Reload times are defined as such: ** Free Action: The weapon takes no time to reload. ** 1 Action: The weapon must spend an action to reload the weapon, though the character is still allowed to move and attack on their turn. ** 1 Turn: The character must spend their entire next turn, and 1 action, to reload their weapon. They cannot move or attack during this time. ** 1 Round: The character starts reloading their weapon during their turn, and they finish the process at the start of their next turn. If the character takes any Reactions, they must spend their entire next turn completing the reloading process. ** 1 or more Minutes: The weapon takes one or more minutes reloading the weapon. Characters must this entire time uninterrupted, and it isn't recommended that characters that characters try reloading such arms during combat. * Weight: How heavy the weapon weighs. * Required Strength: The strength needed to wield a weapon effectively. This required Strength also determines the Stamina needed to fire the weapon, at 1 Stamina per 5 points of Strength. ** Weapons with the Autofire feature don't consume additional Stamina for any additional shots taken after the first. For Example, the 5.56 Assault Rifle has 16 Required Strength, meaning it consumes 3 Stamina when used. If fired rapidly, the attack only consumes the 3 Stamina for initiating the attack. * Damage: How much damage the weapon deals after a successful Accuracy roll. * Special Effects: Additional effects associated with the weapon. Muscle-Powered Range Weapons Muscle powered ranged weapons are primitive weapons used before the invention of gun powder. Some of these weapons literally allow the wielder to add their Strength dice to the damage roll, though others like bows deal a fixed number of dice in damage. Outside of their usual settings, muscle powered ranged weapons are still easily acquired. Crossbows Crossbows are less effective than normal bows because of their lesser damage and range, as well their higher reload time, but anyone can use them; they're as simple to operate as pointing at a target and pulling the trigger. Firearms Firearms have evolved much throughout their invention, starting off as miniature cannons capable of a single shot and evolving into rapid-fire weapons with the ability to cut down waves of enemies. It's up to the Game Master whether players have access to guns or not, as well as what types of guns they have access to; it's jarring to see a .50 caliber machine gun in a medieval fantasy setting, and its probably only appropriate for characters to pick up basic handguns and rifles in a modern setting unless they work for the military. Regardless of what era the character's firearms come from, they should consider the following before using a gun: * All firearms have a chance of miss-firing. If a character rolls a 1 for every 4 dice in their Accuracy roll, the weapon jams and cannot be used until the character spends 1 turn clearing out the stuck piece of ammunition. * Unlike Bows or Crossbows, ammunition used for every firearm is unique to that particular weapon. Someone cannot take a bullet made for a 9mm pistol and use it in a 12-gauge shotgun like they can take an arrow sized for a longbow and use it with a recurve bow. If a character carries multiple guns, they must keep track of their ammunition for each weapon separately. Ancient Firearms Ancient firearms are any loaded from the muzzle. These weapons require more time to reload that other modern fire arms and cannot fire consecutive shots between reloads, but they are still more effective than muscle-powered ranged weapons or crossbows because they either ignore their target's Toughness or deal more damage. Antique Firearms The antique firearm category refers to any firearm more advanced than muzzle-loaded rifles, used mostly in the 19th century. Antique rifles are still used in modern settings, though they were only used in wars up through World War 2. Modern Ranged Weapons Modern range weapons are significantly more powerful than ancient and antique rifles. They deal more damage, they contain more ammunition, some models can fire multiple rounds in a single round, and they require less time to reload. Futuristic Firearms Futuristic firearms are less differentiated by what type of ammunition they use and more on the basis of what kind of damage they deal. Guns of the future can fire charged electrons, plasma, and metallic spikes propelled by electricity. These weapons are also highly customizable, as the ammo capacity, damage, and extra special effects can be modified. Ammunition Ranged Weapons consume resources as they are fired, as the weapon must be projecting something to be a projectile attack. Some of these resources are reusable, and will be marked as such in the ammunition's descriptions, but otherwise ammo is consumed when used and must be completely replaced. The types of ammunition available and the weapons they act as projectiles for are as follows: On their own pages, players can look up the following on each type of ammunition: * The weapons they're used for * How much each type of munition costs per shot, both in real world currency and fantasy coinage * Variant types of ammunition, such as non-lethal bullets, and their price modifiers ** Details for variant ammuntion and how they affect ammuntion costs and damage can be found on the Variant Ammunition page. Armor Since Toughness alone won't protect characters from weapons, many warriors wear armor to lessen the impact from attacks. Armor will break under continued stress, but in the short term it will blunt the blows of enemy, reducing the Health and Stamina damage of any, non-Armor Piercing attack. Characters should consider the following if they decide to wear armor: * Armor Bonus: How much the armor increases the wearer's Physical and Energy Defense * Dodge Penalty: How much the wear's Dodge Characteristic is reduced * Movement Penalty: When a character dons heavy or cumbersome armor, it interferes with their movement. The distance the wearer can move when taking a Move action is reduced by the fraction listed. * Hardness: Armor can only withstand so much force before it gets damaged. If an attack deals more Hit Point damage than the armor's Hardness, the damage that gets past the Hardness deals Health damage to the armor itself, up to a maximum of the armor's Damage Threshold. * Damage Threshold: The amount of Health damage a piece of armor can suffer before breaking. Once the armor takes damage equal to its Threshold, it ceases to provide any protection to the wearer, though they still suffer any Dodge and Movement penalties associated with the armor until they take it off. * Required Strength: How much Strength a character needs to wear the armor without penalty. If a character doesn't have the Required Strength, the armor's Dodge and Movement Penalties are doubled when the character dons the armor. If a character has 1.5 times the armor's Required Strength, the Dodge and Movement Penalties are halved. * Weight: How heavy the armor is. * Special Effects (abbr: SFX): Any additional properties associated with the armor. Antique Armor The term antique armor refers to any suit of armor used up until the 1800s, when high velocity rounds rendered armor obsolete. Heavy suits of armor will protect the wearer from more damage, but they also reduce the character's movement and make it more difficult to dodge attacks. If a character doesn't have the Strength to wear armor, they can still do so, but the Dodge and Movement penalties are doubled. Modern Armor Modern body armor comes in a single variety: bullet-resistant vests. These vests don't provide as much protection from melee attacks or bows as due to their limited coverage and the ease by which their ceramic plates shatter, but they hardened to resist the effects of armor piercing bullets. Futuristic Armor Future forms of armor are focused on, A) decreasing the penalties incurred for wearing armor either by decreasing its weight or better supporting it with powered exoskeletons, B) increasing armor's durability, and C) making armor more modular, allowing characters to add or subtract features. Shields Shields have maintained consistent designs and purposes throughout history, though they lost favor with the introduction of firearms, since effective guns required two hands to use, and cannons cut through even the heaviest shields as if they weren't even there. Characters should consider the following before picking up a shield: * Armor Bonus: A shield's Armor bonus to Physical and Energy Defense stacks with any Armor bonus the character has from either wearing armor or using an Armor power. * Dodge Bonus: Since lighter shields can't take much punishment before they break, the best way to use on is to parry incoming attacks instead. This is represented by the shield's Dodge Bonus, which adds to the character's Dodge Characteristic. ** If a character decides to Block an attack, they can add their shield's Dodge Bonus to the Accuracy roll to negate the incoming attack. * Movement Penalty: Heavier shields slow down their user because of their weight and bulk, resulting in a fractional decrease in the character's Movement speeds. This penalty stacks with any the character has because of wearing heavy armor. * Hardness: If a character wielding a shield is hit by an attack that does more Health damage than the shield has Hardness, the shield itself take damage. A shield can take an amount of damage up to its Damage Threshold. * Damage Threshold: A shield's Damage Threshold represents how much punishment a shield can take before it breaks. If a shield's damage meets its Damage Threshold, it breaks and provides the wielder with no further benefits. ** If a character wielding a shield is also wearing armor and is hit by an attack that deals more Health damage than either the armor or shield's Hardness, the character puts the damage their equipment takes entirely on the shield first, protecting the armor from the attack. Once the shield sustains enough damage to break, any excess damage the shield is unable to absorb goes towards the armor. * Required Strength: The strength required to properly wield the shield. If the character doesn't have the strength to properly wield the shield, its Armor and Dodge bonuses are halved, with odd numbers rounding down. This may decrease the shield's bonuses to 0 * Weight: How heavy the shield is. * Special Effects: Any additional properties associated with the shield. Other gear and equipment The availability and function of additional gear, such as gloves, helmets, and shoes, is up to the Game Master. The more ordinary and basic the equipment is, the easier it should be to find. Typically, such gear should provide situational bonuses on skills relevant to the gear. * For example: Studded boots would provide someone wearing them an advantage on Climb checks or their defense against trip attempts, and gloves can improve the wearer's grip to improve grappling or prevent disarm attempts. Alternatively, gear can be enchanted with magical effects, granting access to powers within the equipment. Gear like this should be designed by the Game Master, and magic items should provide Powers that fit logically with the equipment. * For Example: The Game Master sets up a puzzle requiring the group to create platforms, but no one has the Structure power. Therefore, the Game Master creates a rod that can erect small Structures for use as stepping stones. To prevent abuse in future sessions, the rod only works around water, since the structures are made of ice, so characters must be close to sources of water in order to use the rod. Abbreviations and Descriptions of Special Effects Agile (abbr: Agi): This weapon's wielder can use either their Agility or Strength for both Accuracy and damage rolls. Armor Piercing (abbr: AP): This weapon bypasses the enemy's Armor bonus to physical defense when dealing damage, with the defender only applying their Damage Reduction and Toughness against the damage they take. Armor Piercing weapons are countered by Hardened defenses. Automatic Fire 3-5 (abbr: AF3-5): This weapon can fire either 3 or 5 shots per round. Each attack after the first suffers a -2 penalty, and this penalty is cumulative for every additional shot. Bracing (abbr: Brc): This weapon's base damage is doubled if the wielder readies an action to attack a charging opponent. Defensive (abbr: Def): This weapon provides bonuses to either Dodge or Physical and Energy defense as well as being usable for attacks. When used as a weapon, the item cannot provide any bonuses to defenses unless the character also spends one of their actions to get back into a defensive pose with the weapon. Energy (abbr: En): This weapon deals Energy damage instead of physical damage. Grappling (abbr: Grp): This weapon can help the user tangle up their target, granting an Advantage die when grappling the opponent. Hardened (abbr: Hrd): The armor neutralizes the Armor Piercing advantage, allowing the wearer to apply their Armor bonus against the attack's damage. Impenetrable (abbr: Imp): This armor lessens the impact from Penetrating attacks, neutralizing their effectiveness. Modular (abbr: Mod): This armor or weapon can be modified with other pieces of equipment to either increase its effectiveness Penetrating (abbr: Pen): This weapon bypasses the enemy's Toughness when dealing Stamina damage, leaving only the target's damage reduction and Armor to resist the attack. Penetrating attacks are counted by Impenetrable defenses. Reach (abbr: Rch): This weapon allows the wielder to attack targets more than 2 meters away, though they cannot hit enemies adjacent to the character. Self-Supporting (abbr: Sup): This armor has an exoskeleton that completely supports the wearer, neutralizing the armor's weight when worn. Simple (abbr: Sim): This weapon doesn't require a Skill Rank for basic Proficiency, meaning anyone can pick it up and use it without suffering Disadvantages to Accuracy Rolls. Thrown (abbr: Thrw): This weapon can be used for both melee and ranged attacks. Melee attacks have their Accuracy Rolls based on Strength, while ranged attacks are based on Agility. The maximum range of a thrown weapon is based on the user's Strength; the stronger the thrower, the farther the weapon can go. In the case of throwing weapons that are usable exclusively at range, the user adds their Strength dice to the damage roll. Tripping (abbr: Trp): When used as part of a Trip maneuver, this weapon provides the wielder with an Advantage on the check. Variable (abbr: Var): The weapon has multiple options for attacking, as described in the weapon's description. In the case of ranged weapons, character must have access to different types of ammunition to take advantage of the Variable trait. and they must predesignate what type of round they are using for an attack while loading their weapon. Worn (abbr: Wn): This weapon is worn on the character's hand, allowing the character to hold other items when not being used as a weapon. Additionally, if the character has any Martial Arts, they don't need the Weapon Element addition to add the Worn weapons's damage to the damage. Wrapping (abbr: Wrp): If used against an opponent holding a shield, this weapon ignores the shield's defenses on a successful hit. Category:Character Creation